<p>This sounds serious enough to need more than just a “report” to other students. It sounds like this young man needs some serious counseling immediately; I would even go so far as to expel him. He made terroristic threats of a religious nature and obviously flaunted basic societal and college rules by bringing a knife like that to his dorm room (a boy in Pittsburgh was recently expelled from school for having a paint ball gun IN THE TRUNK OF HIS CAR). </p>
<p>I’m glad your son is out - is he still in the same dorm as former roommate? Where were this young man’s parents?</p>
<p>Moving out would be a good idea. Hall directors are usually pretty accomodating, but he should request a change asap while its still possible.</p>
<p>And if I were him, I’d make up a bogus reason about moving, so that the prospective person moving into that room doesnt find out WHY your S is leaving, and then refused to trade rooms.</p>
<p>Vyse, if you read the prev posts the son already moved into another dorm, and had told the roommate that he wanted to move to be nearer his friends.</p>
<p>But I find your comment “so that the prospective person moving into that room doesnt find out WHY your S is leaving, and then refused to trade rooms” to be deeply disturbing. If this kid appears this dangerous, NO ONE should be rooming with him. How could anyone in good conscience “trick” someone into trading rooms with a potentially dangerous roommate?</p>
<p>What are students doing with knives and weapons at school??? </p>
<p>My D lives in the dorm at the U of AZ where the girl was murdered this morning. I don’t know the details, but my D was told that the suspect used a weapon and that is what justified the first degree murder charge.</p>
<p>The student who had the knife and who made the threatening statements should be removed from the dorm and referred for evaluation. IMMEDIATELY.</p>
<p>How did this kid get into college? As part of the admissions process, were there not any teacher evaluations that might have clued admissions officers that he was a little off? I am not blaming admissions, but given recent events, one has to wonder what goes on during the admissions decisions.I realize that not all schools require teacher recs, but maybe more should, and not just 1 teacher rec!</p>
<p>Just an update on how the school is handling this situation.
Hall director spent quite a bit of time with my son and had him relate all concerning encounters with his former roommate. He then took the two pages of notes to residence life.
He called my son in yesterday to say that res life felt the young man needed further help and gave my son the heads up that they were going to be talking with him because the roomie might figure out that my son had given info. They basically said my son could nix the interaction or limit what was said.
We talked about it at length and decided that they should go ahead. While there was a fear for my son’s safety, unless someone starts to intervene for this young man, there could be a tragedy for others or himself.
I thought the school handled it well.</p>
<p>I basically agree with what has been said here, and would probably react the same…but…well, I’m not so sure that there’s enough evidence that this kid is a sociopath, dangerous, etc. He may just be a mouthy, jerky kid. Lots of kids have knives–(i.e., every kid who is or was a Boy Scout)–and knives may or may not be banned by the college. Note also that he didn’t actually threaten anybody. I wouldn’t be at all surprised that after the school “follows up” with the kid, they don’t do much (except maybe put him in a single)–because he may not actually have violated any rules. Although perhaps there is a rule against knives, since the official confiscated it.</p>
<p>Why would you need a knife at college (and I don’t mean the utensil kind!)? I assume Hunt that you are saying that kids have non-utensil knives at colleges? I may be naive, but I just don’t understand why a college student would need a knife on campus in a dorm. And perhaps colleges need to re-think the rules on potentially dangerous items that are NOT allowed in college dorms!</p>
<p>I think your S is brave, and I admire the fact that your family is not only concerned about your S but also about other students who might encounter this young man. The reaction on this board affirms that his former roomate is not just “mouthy” but saying things that indicate a deep disturbance. Normal people do not talk about killing people who aren’t Catholic, with a plastic bag or otherwise. This is the age when psychosis and schizophrenia often manifest. I’m so glad you went with your gut and that the college is taking it seriously as well.</p>
<p>I would be suprised if my son doesn’t have his swiss army knife at college. He was a BS (eagle) and he and college friends are in the outdoor activity group where there is often a need for the little scissors or knife.</p>
<p>Keymom, I just read this thread today - it sounds like your son and your family reacted perfectly to this scary situation. I’m glad that your son was able to get out quickly and that the school is taking the situation seriously.</p>
<p>As to the poster who didn’t think this kid really was a problem, there were other outbursts and bizarre stuff that happened as my S waited to switch rooms. As I said there were two pages of notes from my S. My S is very laid back and tolerates very quirky people. This was different.
The one question I don’t have answered is whether they were talking to his parents. I think the pendulum has swung way to far in the direction of individual rights when it comes to mental illness. If this were my son I would want someone to tell me.
Oh, and they have not put anyone else in with him.</p>
<p>I’m all for a ban on firearms in the dorms, but it’s hard to see why pocketknives are a clear and present danger – unless you are planning to also ban paring and bread knives.</p>
<p>The crazy roommate of this thread is the danger, not the knife. (And it’s good to hear that it sounds like the school is responding in a rational manner, too.)</p>
<p>Just to clarify, it was NOT a pocket knife. The hall director did say that knives are a gray area. When my son described the knife, he held out his hands to indicate about a 9 inch blade.</p>
<p>Keymom, yeah, from your description it sounded like a hunting knife (or, more likely, a “commando knife”). Unless you’re hunting large game a knife like that has no more real use outdoors than it does in a dorm room.</p>